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Chapter 97
"What's wrong?"
"The enemy's numbers are vastly disproportionate to reality. This is likely a ruse to lure us into a trap."
Old Wei's bloodthirsty head cooled down after Gong Xiaohua's reminder.
"But General He and the others have already pursued the enemy. If we don't follow, we'll be charged with military insubordination. The lightest punishment is thirty lashes, the severest is desertion with a death sentence."
"Xiaohua, no matter what lies ahead, we must obey orders. I'll go first. You all...never mind, decide for yourselves." With that, he pursued the main force.
Watching Old Wei's retreating figure,
"Mistress, what should we do now?"
"Let's follow and see, we'll act when the time comes."
"Yes."
'Bu Luo Jian' had sheer cliffs on both sides, towering into the clouds. Between them lay a passage about five meters wide. The deep, dark valley stretched endlessly out of sight.
Gao Hu tailed the enemy, slashing all the way. Seeing Third Prince Dawei panic and flee like a mad dog into 'Bu Luo Jian', he was elated.
"Charge! Capture Third Prince Dawei alive!"
Morale soared. Soldiers poured into Bu Luo Jian.
After who knows how long, looking ahead, a troop appeared at the end of the road. Standing at the fore was none other than the fleeing Third Prince Dawei, along with Second Prince Dawei.
Behind them, crossbowmen encircled the valley. They had drawn their bows, arrows nocked, aimed right at the soldiers.
"Defend!" General He beside Gao Hu ordered the troops behind.
Rows of sword-and-shield men rushed to the front, shielding the main force.
"General Wei Wu, I've waited long for you." The Second Prince across the way said.
"Is that so? This is your burial ground today."
But before his words fell, shouts echoed deafeningly from the cliffs on both sides. Brilliant Dawei banners fluttered in the wind. Soldiers in black armor glinted coldly.
Gao Hu paled in fright, realizing they had been duped.
The Daye soldiers looked in horror at the sheer number of enemies on the cliffs, and the many trebuchets beside them.
The horses below, seeming to sense the impending danger, skittishly stamped their hooves and whinnied.
"Ah, I picked this place just for you. Look, surrounded by peaks, with a deep, dark valley, a fine place to lay your souls to rest. Ha, ha, ha!"
The bloodthirsty laughter echoed through the valley like a curse, turning him into a demon from hell, chilling listeners to the bone.
The horn sounded, "Woo, woo, woo". Boulders rained from the cliffs, pounding the gorge. Wails of misery rang ceaselessly overhead.
Against the falling rocks from above, no weapon could put up any resistance.
"Soldiers, the exit is just ahead. Charge out and you may survive!" Gao Hu shouted, eyes red with fury.
The Daye troops rushed the exit, only to meet dense volleys of arrows. Wave after wave surged forward and fell.
Even those who charged out were slaughtered by the tens of thousands of Dawei troops outside.
Soon the exit was piled high with bodies.
The skies darkened and the air became suffused with the stench of blood. Broken spears and swords lay half-buried in the mud and bones, glinting faintly in the gloom.
The ground was strewn with blood, flesh, brains and severed limbs. The soldiers had nowhere to run.
It was a one-sided slaughter, the valley saturated with shadows and despair, like the bloody land of Shura.
Gong Xiaohua and three of the Qin guards followed at the back. Most of the army had entered the gorge while thousands of Dawei archers heavily guarded the exit. Screams of agony came from within.
The 20,000 soldiers who had yet to enter the gorge were surrounded by another wave of Dawei troops.
The enemy had set a perfect trap, luring them here to annihilate the remaining 100,000 of Daye's army.
"Soldiers, charge! To save our brothers inside!" yelled an officer among them.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Eyes red, the soldiers charged recklessly upon hearing the ghastly screams from the gorge.
Gong Xiaohua wielded twin blades, their icy sheen flashing as she struck. None who met her survived.
She kept the enemy commander in her sights.
But the endless waves of enemies impeded her, and progress was difficult.
She didn't know how much time had passed. Bodies piled around her feet. She was like a tireless killing machine.
Familiar faces fell before her, one by one. Old Wei died, Er Zhuzi died, the officer who had taken her to the assault battalion died, and one of the Qins who was to protect her died.
The Daye soldiers gradually noticed one person ravaging the enemy ahead of them. Wherever he went, enemies fell in swathes. He was drenched in blood, unclear if it was his own or others'.
He gave them tremendous courage. They began to follow him, fearless. Their numbers swelled and they advanced rapidly.
Seeing the commotion ahead, the enemy commander hundreds of meters away shouted, "A thousand gold to whoever takes down that bravest foe ahead!" Hordes of Dawei troops converged on Gong Xiaohua, but now thousands fought alongside her.
With their help, Gong Xiaohua finally had a moment's respite. She picked up a knife and shield, mounted a warhorse, and stabbed its hindquarters fiercely. The horse whinnied and charged ahead in pain.
Seeing Gong Xiaohua gallop alone toward the enemy, the Qin guards cried in alarm, "Mistress!"
Seeing her approach, the enemy commander panicked and yelled for his archers to shoot her down.
But before he finished shouting, Gong Xiaohua's dagger shot toward his brow with a piercing whistle and he fell, dead with disbelief.
"General Wan is dead!" someone shouted. Dawei morale plummeted and soldiers fled in droves.
Seizing the chance, the Daye army, burning with vengeance, bravely charged and overwhelmed the nearly 30,000 enemy troops with just 20,000 men, achieving a breakthrough into the gorge entrance.